Diamondback terrapin
Scientific name: Malaclemys terrapin (Schoepff, 1793)
Overview
The diamondback terrapin or simply terrapin is a species of terrapin native to the brackish coastal tidal marshes of the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico coast, as well as in Bermuda. It belongs to the monotypic genus Malaclemys. It has one of the largest ranges of all turtles in North America, stretching as far south as the Florida Keys and as far north as Cape Cod.
From the Wikipedia article “Diamondback terrapin”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: USA (Maryland, Rhode Island, along the Atlantic amd Gulf coasts in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida including the K.
Common names
Also known in English as Diamond-backed Terrapin, Diamondback Turtle, Terrapin.
Names in other languages (6)
- Arabic
- سلحفاة معينية الظهر
- Chinese
- 鑽紋龜, 钻纹龟
- German
- Diamantschildkröte, Diamantschildkröten
- Japanese
- キスイガメ
- Persian
- لاکپشت پشت الماسی
- Russian
- Бугорчатая черепаха
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Reptile Database.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q569170, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Diamondback terrapin”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Holbrook, John Edwards, 1794-1871 (English Wikipedia), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026